Steering-gear for vehicles.



A. o. HIGINBOTHAM'. STEERING GEAR FORv VE APPLICATION FILED AUG.

HICLES. 6.1914.

Patented Apr. 10, 1917 the invention `being tendency nennen o. nreinnornenr, on n. nos'rnn sito omarmen,

STEERING-GEAR, FOR. VEHICLES. g2g-25u 'Specification of Letters Patent. Rgiiggmrgd if am, 1li-f5, l

applica-tion ined August s, 1914. serial no. 655,522.

To all whom 'it may conce? .r Y

Be :it known that l, ARTHUR O. HIGIN- Bornem, a citizen of the United States, residingl at Vorcester, in the county of forcester and Commonwealth ci Massachusetts, have invented a new and'usefnl Improvement in Steeringilear for Vehicles, of which the following, the accompanyingl drawings, is a specilication.

The present invention relates to a steerf ing' gear for motor vehicles, the object of to provide a strong, simple, and easily operated mechanism by means ci which the steering Wheels may be readily turned to diiierei'it angles with re lation to the body oi" the vehicle.

invention is primarily designed for use in connection with the front Wheel and steering1 knuckle assemblage set forth and' described in my eo'pending,r application, Se rial lilnmber 854,630, led Aug. 3, 1911i, for a motor vehicle. The invention set forth and described insaid co-pen`ding applicationis characterised by the absenceV of the usual the iront Wheels'to be deliected ont of their course by surface obstructions Sil ' in the road, making 'ity to resist such it possible to eliminate the employment therewith of the usual irreversible type worm and sector or Worm and nut steering gear, which possesses/ the abildeflecting tendency.

.The present invention, which is applicable to any front wheel and steering knuckle assemblage possessing the above characteristics, takes 'the form of a rack and pinion arrangement, and the construction of the same is iully set forth in the following description and pointed out in the claims annexed thereto, reference being had to the' accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a sectional view on the line 1--1, 2, illustrating my invention.

is a transverse section on the line 2-2, Fig. i.'

L'le par s are indicated by like reference characters in the diieient figures.

1n the drawings, the numeral 1 denotes one di the longitudinal side-members of the vehicle trame or chassis, on the inner side of which is disposed the casing or housing 2 oi my improved steering' gear. The side of' sain housing is formed With'a lateral hollow boss 3, or lugs 'through taken in connection With which boltsAare passed to secure said lloueing to the upper flange of the channel mem ber 1. Said housing 2 is a tivoepart stm@n ture, being divided on tile line 5, and the cover member 6 is secured to the main 'ooition by bolts 7, 7, extending' through internal lugs or ears 8, 8, formed in corresjondirn parts of said cover member and main tion, andv by bolts 9 uniting,` the ila, t, formed on the edges oiE said cover member and main portion. v

Each section of the housing copeintq1 at the line of division 5, in forming an clined hollow boss 11 for the reception of the lower end oi' the steering column 12, which contains a steering rod 155i hav *Je ing on its upper end a. .steeringwheel, not shown, oi the ordinary type. The inner end of said rod 13 has rigidly scoured thereto a' bevel pinion lil, which meshes with bevel gear 15. The hub 1G of the latten journaled on a stub shaft or pin 17, and outer end oi? said hub is received within an .enlargement 18 of the housing which prothe channel member 1, and bears against the inner face ofl the vertical woll thereof. The enlargement 18 is shouldered as at 19, to form an abutment for the outer end of hub 1G and for a shoulder 2O `formed by a reduction in the diameter oi' pin 1i", the reduced portion of said pin passing through A the enlargement and through the member 1,

and receiving on its, outer end a nut 21, by

means of which the parts maybe drawn into jects within l and held in the position shown in Fig. 2.

A spur pinion 22 integral with the hub 16 meshes with the teeth of a curved rack 23 formed on a segmental 1;- iflsecured to a rock shaft The segmental gember 24: is skeleton in form, the materiai at the cental portion thereof boingu removed provide ample space for the pinion The rock shaft 25 extending; parallel to the pin 17, is journaled at one end in a bushing` corried by the hollow boss 3, and :it the other end in a bushing carried by a hollow bf f 2G on the cover member 6. The ouiie end ofsaid rock shaft has rigidly secured thereto an arm Q7 which is adapted to be con-- lnected by a link, not shown, to'the steering* scribed,-ithe rocking of member 24 in onel i `direction or 'the other and the movement steering gear, not only with respect to theease of manufacture and assemblage of parts, but also the ability of said parts to stand constant usage without. appreciable Wear. The lost motion which soon appears in Steering gears of the Wo.rin? type, necessita'ting frequent adjustment of the saine to compensate therefor, is practically absent in the steering gear'of my invention, silice the excessive friction always attendant upon the use of a Worm gear iseliminated, and the parts of my steering gear can be made mas.

sive enough to practically nullify the eiiect of any slight wear which may take place.

I claim,

1. In a steering gear, a steering rod, a rotatable pinion having a iixed axis of 'rotation, meansv operatively connecting said rod and pinion, and a rocking member carrying an internal gear in mesh with said pinion. v

2. In a steering gear, a steering. rod, a rotatable pinionV havng 2a iXed'aXis of 1'0- tation', means operai vely connecting said assenso rod and pinion, and Aapivotally supported member having teeth in mesh with the teeth of said pinion.- i

3. In a steering gear, a steering rod, a rotatable pinion having .a fixedaxis'fof rotation, means operatively connecting said rod and pinion, and apivoted member. having 'a segmental internal gear meshing With the" teeth of said pinion.

4c. in a steering. gear, a steeringrod, a ro tatablepinion having a fixed axis of rotaf; tion, bevel gearing 'operatively connecting' said rod and said pinion, .and a member piv. oted on one side of 'the axis of said pinion,

and having teeth iii engagement with said pinion on the opposite side of the. axis of.

said pinion..

5.111 a steering gear, a steering rod, a to p gear carried thereby, a second gear in mesh with said first gear, a pinion carried by the hub and said second gear, said pinion having .l a xed axis of rotation, anda rocking mem- .-fj 

